All news
MTS was obliged to give the budget 3 billion rubles from the increase in tariffs and reduce them
According to the agency's report, in April and May of this year, telecom operators increased the cost of their services by an average of 8%, with the price increase affecting more than 30 million subscribers. Based on these facts, an antitrust lawsuit was filed, and the company was issued a corresponding court injunction.
The FAS emphasizes that this method of illegally withdrawing treasury revenues is being used for the first time. The Ministry of Communications believes that this amount is equivalent to illegally earned funds, and believes that this measure will prevent similar practices among communications operators.
Two years ago, antimonopoly authorities already recognized the increase in MTS tariffs as unjustified. The cost of the operator's services was then increased by more than 20%, but the company did not provide the authorities with sufficient evidence of the costs.
Last fall, the FAS ordered the Big Four operators to cancel fees for Internet distribution. MegaFon, Tele2, and Beeline complied, and MTS stated that its paid services did not infringe on the interests of subscribers. After that, the company continued to offer its services free of charge.
At the end of August this year, an antitrust lawsuit was filed against MTS, MegaFon and Beeline over roaming in Crimea. The FAS stated that the preconditions for charging additional fees have already been eliminated.